If you are not already a fan of the Brazilian blend of samba and psychedelic rock called Tropicália, then you will be forgiven for not having heard of Tom Zé. Even fans not on the Brazilian scene back in the heyday of the 1960s may not appreciate Zé’s contributions to that mixed-bag genre, for when the military dictatorship came to power late in the decade, Zé, a native of the remote, dry country to the country’s northeast, went off into the wilderness—literally—and remained there for years. Meanwhile, figures in the movement such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, who weathered plenty of troubles of their own but remained closer to the center of things, eventually attained international renown for their music.

Zé was the most ingenious, and most eccentric, of all the musicians bound up in Tropicália, and as it was happening he was at its forefront. Born on this day in 1936, he remains active and ever strange today, and with a renewed public presence. He had been working all along, though for decades in obscurity; his reappearance was largely the product of an accidental discovery by former Talking Heads singer David Byrne, who heard a Zé record while visiting Brazil and became an instant convert to the cause.

We think you’ll be similarly swayed. To start, here’s Tom Zé and his band of wacky confederates performing “Achim,” perhaps the only pop song in history to concern itself with the mysteries of sneezing. A delicious, bittersweet tune called “A Felicidade” follows. We close with a film segment from Byrne’s record label, full of good footage of Zé and comrades in action.